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News - DenzaDenza wants to be a top five premium playerChinese entrant Denza confident of quickly ‘disrupting’ luxury brands in ANZ market23 Feb 2026 By MATT BROGAN CHINESE premium new energy vehicle brand Denza is confident it can “disrupt” the premium car market in Australia and New Zealand, committing to a first-year sales volume that could put it ahead of Volvo and Land Rover through a fast-growing dealer network that will help it appeal to metropolitan and regional buyers alike.
Speaking at the launch of the B5 and B8 in the Flinders Ranges of South Australia, Denza Australia and New Zealand chief operating officer Mark Harland explained that in growing the brand Down Under, Denza aimed to offer new energy vehicles to buyers beyond the city fringes, delivering cars that are as capable as they are luxurious.
“Denza is about being more diverse in the kind of vehicles we offer … while at the same time competing with other premium brands at the top of the range,” said Mr Harland, noting the availability of just two model lines at the present time.
“While a lot of us drive our SUVs in capital cities like Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane, we want to offer vehicles that can do more than that – vehicles that can tackle anything that Australia and New Zealand have to throw at us.
“Most people in Australia and New Zealand wouldn’t expect a (Chinese) luxury off-roader to have the kind of capability we have (and) now we get to put a flag in the ground and say we can be as good as anyone – if not better – when it comes to SUVs, when it comes to luxury, and when it comes to off-road capability.”
Aside from the products themselves, which Mr Harland said were so far converting test drives into sales at a rate of around 50 per cent, Denza is targeting sales volumes "up there fighting it out with the top five premium brands – in fact, at the very top of that”.
“Those brands are probably selling close to 20,000 vehicles each year, while players at the lower end of the top five are selling 10,000 or thereabouts.”
Last year, BMW topped the Australian premium car sales charts with 26,852 deliveries, ahead of Mercedes-Benz (22,850), Audi (16,014) and Lexus (14,561). Land Rover was a distant fifth with 8339 units sold.
“So, yes. We want to be mixing it up with the top five premium brands – that is our aspiration for year one,” asserted Mr Harland.
Given the brand has only two models at this point in time, Mr Harland's aspirations seem somewhat lofty, the B5 and B8 taking a hard road to better-established European and Japanese luxury marques with decades of transactional loyalty, diverse product offerings, and expansive sales, parts, and service networks.
Denza has priced the two-row, Prado-sized B5 from $74,990 before on-road costs while the bigger three-row B8 is $97,990 + ORC in top-spec trim.
Mr Harland explained how, similar to programs offered by Lexus and others, Denza would offer customers exclusive opportunities to attend events hosted by the brand, including sporting and cultural experiences both at home and abroad, changing the way buyers think about Chinese marques.
“We want to build that into our stores (dealerships) and we want to show our customers that membership has its privileges,” he said.
“Ultimately, we are here to sell cars, and we do have to be profitable. But we need to do that in a way that takes care of our customers, and we aim to set the benchmark when it comes to customer experience.”
The former Geneal Motors and Holden executive said that in offering rural and regional buyers a vehicle range suitable for duties beyond the weekday school run, Denza has the opportunity to expand into territories he feels are often overlooked by newer market entrants.
He said this strategy was not only “good for business” but also one that would allow the brand to establish itself in regions dominated by primarily diesel-centric players.
“We have four or five dealers in Australia at the moment, and I would like to have that get to 20 by the end of the year, as well as four or five in New Zealand,” he explained.
“Be we want to make sure we have the right dealers in the right location so that we can offer the sales and service capabilities our customers need from day one.
“We are working on building that dealer network, and because we are expecting Denza customers to be in more rural locations, we will authorise select BYD dealerships to handle their servicing requirements – but that remains a work in progress,” he emphasised.
Backing his push to market, Mr Harland said the brand was already seeing a great deal of interest in the B5 and B8 product, primarily from customers wanting a luxurious, new energy vehicle capable of delivering both off-road and towing performance – up to 3500kg in some configurations.
He said that despite a limited retail network at present, Denza dealerships were experiencing a significant level of interest from buyers – prompting him to suggest that the new entrant will become a top five player in the premium market by the end of its first year on sale.
“Obviously the vehicles speak for themselves (because) right now, we’re seeing around a 50 per cent conversion off of test drives,” claimed Mr Harland.  Read more19th of February 2026  Denza launches into key Aussie segmentsB5 and B8 plug-in hybrid four-wheel drives arrive in local showrooms priced from $74,9905th of January 2026  2026 Denza B5 Leopard reviewDenza launches locally with a pair of hybrid-powered 4WDs16th of December 2025  Denza details 2026 strategy for AustraliaImporter says powertrain flexibility will allow it to respond quickly to market demand |
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